Page 14

With a sigh, she turned and attempted to book a cab, but the heavy traffic made it impossible to get one. After several failed attempts, she decided to walk for a while and try her luck from another location.
As she moved, the bustling streets gradually gave way to emptier ones. A few minutes later, she entered a quiet alley to take a shortcut to the main road.
Just then, a strange sensation crawled up her spine—she wasn’t alone.
Her heartbeat quickened. She picked up her pace, hoping it was just her imagination. But the footsteps behind her quickened too.
Glancing back, she spotted two men following her. They looked unkempt, sleazy—probably homeless, but the way their eyes roamed over her sent alarm bells ringing in her head.
Ivy’s pulse spiked.
She tried to run.
The men ran too.
Before she could react, one of them grabbed her arm and yanked her back. She stumbled, crashing onto the hard ground. Pain shot through her.
The other man stepped in front of her, blocking her escape. She was trapped between them, the desolate alley offering no witnesses, no help. The alley was empty—no houses, no passersby. Just her and them.
A sickening smile twisted on their faces. They stepped closer, eyes dark with intentions that made her stomach churn.
Ivy scrambled to her feet, desperate to make a run for it, but before she could take another step, both men grabbed her, shoving her back down. Rough hands tore at her clothes, their grip bruising.
"Help!" she screamed, her voice desperate. "Someone, help!"
But her cries were swallowed by the distant blare of music from the main road.
Hands fumbled at her clothes. A filthy stench filled her nose as she struggled.
Then—
Just as terror took hold, one of the men was suddenly yanked back by his collar and thrown to the ground with brutal force.
Ivy looked up, her breath hitching.
Chapter 5 Sawyer Stark
Christian.
He moved like a storm, a thick wooden stick in his grip. Before the other man could react, Christian swung it with brutal force. The sickening crunch of impact echoed in the alley.
"Ah!"
"Fuck!" the men cursed, staggering back, but they weren’t down. They were used to fights. They recovered quickly, their eyes dark with rage as they advanced again.
Christian pulled Ivy up and, without looking at her, pushed her away. "Go," he ordered, his voice eerily calm. He pointed towards the exit. "That way. Now."
She hesitated, her body frozen with fear, but he pushed her again, his focus solely on the men closing in on him.
From the force of his push, Ivy stumbled forward, her feet carrying her away for a few steps. But something made her stop. She turned back, her eyes wide as she watched him fight.
Christian fought like a madman. His fists connected with brutal precision, breaking noses, splitting lips. The men reeled, blood staining their faces, but they fought back. One of them managedto snatch the stick from Christian’s grip and slammed it against his side.
Ivy gasped.
Ivy gasped as the wood struck his side with a sickening crack. But Christian barely flinched. If anything, the impact seemed to fuel something even darker within him. His eyes burned with a raw, uncontrolled fury as he launched another brutal attack.
Before she could think, Ivy found herself running back toward them just as Christian grabbed a brick from the ground, lifting it high, ready to brutally strike it against the skull of one of the men.